Wow. It's scary that I remember promising myself that Tokyo Mew Mew would be the first fanfiction I posted, three years ago. ...Annnd that turned out to be a total unintentional lie. Sorry, TMM.

Speaking of... I don't own you. At all. If I did, etc. You've heard that spiel before.

I love this fic. So much so that it was planned as a one-shot and now looks to be three... four chapters? Ai.

White Chocolate With Strawberries

"For disturbing the peace, we'll make you pay—nya!"

Kirema Anima typically didn't respond well to threats, even if they were little spirited threats from a pink catgirl. This one, a squirrel mutation (and what a big squirrel it was!), leapt for the girl in question—but to no avail.

Mew Ichigo was much faster than a squirrel, as were her four friends and fellow members of Tokyo Mew Mew. They were also much stronger than one.

"RIBBON!"

"Mint Echo!"

"Lettuce Rush!"

"Pudding Ring Inferno!"

"Zakuro Pure!"

"Strawberry Check!"

It was enough—the squirrel, ever innocent, was released from the Kirema Anima's hold—the latter tried to escape but was promptly caught and eaten by faithful Masha.

Zakuro gave one of her small smiles.

"Not too difficult."

"We did it, na no da!" Pudding leapt into Ichigo's arms—luckily, she was still a Mew, and so kept her balance.

Ichigo hardly noticed, anyway—her cat's tail was twitching, and she was perturbed. "I just don't understand where they keep coming from—every time we think we've found them all…"

"I don't understand it either."

Ichigo jumped about four feet in the air—her black ears stood on end as she whirled around and yelled: "Shirogane! Don't scare me like that!"

Indeed, Ryou Shirogane was right behind her, and he laughed as she took a swipe at him while dodging effortlessly. His blue eyes sparkled, as if she'd just made his day.

"You almost made me tra—!" Then she stopped—Mint, Lettuce, Pudding and Zakuro had no idea that she (still!) sometimes became a cat, even after the whole just-getting-her-powers-back transformation last fall. Only Ryou and Keiichiro-san knew, really.

Ryou seemed to know what she was about to say, and quickly (but smoothly) took the reins of the argument.

"I've been looking into it, but all we know about these new Kirema Anima is where they show up and when. To find out more, I'm afraid I'll have to keep cutting your weekends short and bring you back to the café now."

Ichigo practically howled like the feline she was. More undercover work, when White Day was just around the corner and she hadn't had a work-free weekend in months?

"What?"

"Okay," Mint said simply, and strolled past Ryou to the limo he'd brought—not that she cares if we work, Ichigo thought bitterly, when all Café Mew Mew is to her is an extended tea-time!

She whined, "Ry-ou—"

He nodded toward Zakuro and sighed in Pudding's direction, smiled at Lettuce, then put an arm around Mew Ichigo with a smirk. "Enough of that. Let's go, catgirl."

"Nooooo!"

"W-w-welcome to Café Mew Mew! How may I help you? Where w-would you like to sit?"

At least Lettuce is helping me today, Ichigo thought resignedly, brushing some chocolate crumbs off her red skirt.

That was the only thing that was different. Mint still drank tea at her solitary table; Pudding's acrobatic skills still did more harm than good to their dishes; and Zakuro's cool waitress exterior still sent people scrambling Ichigo's way.

So I'm stuck, once again, with all the work.

She moved from table to table, smiling, running back and forth with trays of sweets, nodding and shaking her head for two hours. The sun was starting to set when Ichigo finally saw a break in the number of customers coming in. With a small squeak of relief, she slipped into the kitchen and sank to the floor, panting.

"Ichigo-san?"

"Eep!" She jumped. She had forgotten that the kitchen was Keiichiro's domain. The things he's made in here! But she had no time to swoon or sample, break or no.

"Ah… gomen nasai, Akasaka-san. I just… wanted a break."

Her 'cat' nose suddenly twitched. What was that delicious smell?

Keiichiro smiled—beamed, really. "That's quite all right, Ichigo-san. You only startled me."

Ichigo couldn't hold back any longer—she wandered over to Keiichiro's side, her nose in overdrive. Apparently Keiichiro was stirring some wonderfully-smelling, creamy white liquid in a bowl.

"Akasaka-san… what's this? It smells great!"

"Shhhh…" He leaned in closer. "It's a cake—vanilla—for someone special we both know."

Someone special! "It looks wonderful, and it's not even done yet…!"

"No, but it will be soon."

She didn't really want to go back out to the café, so she stayed and watched Keiichiro hum as he stirred and mixed. He looked so content, almost happy—baking was one of his favorite things, but even so Ichigo marveled at his continuous dedication to it. If he was not assisting with Mew Project things way over her head, he was making some delectable thing.

His ponytail swayed from side to side, more chocolate than the sweet he now offered her. He's always so sweet himself… She found herself wondering what it would be like if his counterpart was sweet once in a—

The door swung open.

"Keiichiro? It's about time for—oh."

Speak of the devil and he appears… Ichigo sighed. Ryou was in the kitchen now, looking at Keiichiro almost desperately. His blond hair was matted to his forehead, indicating that he'd just showered—she blushed, remembering her encounter with him as he was shirtless not so very long ago. The long brown jacket he wore somehow brought out his blue eyes.

And at the moment, those blue eyes were narrowing.

Keiichiro nodded and tossed the high-schooler something from his pocket—to Ichigo it looked like a syringe. "I didn't forget. …Whenever you're ready."

Ryou was still staring at the two of them. He addressed his next question to Ichigo: "What, taking a break? Slackers aren't rewarded, baka."

Keiichiro sighed too. A suspicious glance along with a casually tossed-out insult was a declaration of war.

"Shirogane! I am no baka! Why do you always insult me when I'm the only one—"

"—Who does any work around here, yes, I know. I've heard you say it a hundred times." Ryou feigned a worn-out sigh.

"And you'll hear it a hundred more as long as you don't appreciate the fact that I have a life!"

In the midst of her rant, Keiichiro murmured to Ryou: "You're not seeing what you think you're seeing."

The blond gazed at the fuming catgirl, then back at his longtime caretaker, and took a breath to settle his own discomfort. Then he sighed as well. "…I know." And changed the subject. "I'll do it later. I have to go."

"Where?"

"Shirogane, are you listening to me?"

Ryou blinked in her direction. Upon recovery, his grin was sly. "I'm sorry, were you saying something?"

"You—!"

She leapt for him, using her feline speed. With his more mature feline speed, he dodged her sudden lashing-out, laughing the whole time.

"Too slow, Ichigo," he teased. Then his nose twitched. "…What's that wonderful smell?"

Keiichiro blushed. "Ah! Er…making a cake. You know me."

"I do." Ryou was now holding Ichigo away from him with one long, pale arm. He tilted his head in a 'because I'm curious' manner. "Who's it for?"

"Someone…special." The blush deepened.

Now I remember, Ichigo thought, temporarily distracted from her fight with Ryou as she watched Keiichiro's face. Akasaka-san always blushes like that when he's lying.

If the high-schooler noticed, he didn't show it. Instead he shrugged, and with an indifferent "Do whatever you want to", turned to leave.

As he approached the swinging doors, Ichigo stepped into his path and spread her hands out wide; however, before she could open her mouth, Ryou put his right index finger over her lips.

Ichigo's heart skipped into a faster gear—along with the sudden realization of just who the cake was meant for. But she didn't get much time to ponder that. Those blue eyes were infinite and vast, and something very curious floated in them…

Ichigo wanted to know what she saw, even as she instinctively shied away from it.

They said curiosity killed cats.

This is Shirogane… Shouldn't I be more careful? And yet how could she think of anything careful and safe when his finger was on her mouth and he was breathing so closely to her?

"Ichigo…" he whispered, so that only she could hear.

Her face flushed. What was he doing? To her dismay, her notorious black cat ears popped out—she felt her tail brushing against her ankles too. The way he was just staring at her, as if nothing else existed but her…

"Ichigo…?" Ryou stretched one finger out and, tentatively, stroked one dark ear. She felt herself purr without really meaning to. It felt so good…

The air between them was charged with tension, on the brink of release or restraint—it was hotter than anything the redhead had ever experienced in her short life.

Answer, answer, answer! Don't let him…let him fluster you! You have to answer!

But Ichigo was finding that hard at the moment.

"Yes…?" It was all she could manage, and a squeak at best.

And then he grinned, and broke the moment by flicking her on the nose with one finger. "…Get back to work."

Keiichiro, who had been watching in the background with a hint of fascination and triumph, now huffed in irritation. And there goes my quiet atmosphere.

"Why—you—you—SHIROGANE, HOW DARE YOU?"

"Ichigo-san, please don't shout—I've got cakes in the oven."

"And customers in the café don't want to hear your shrieks," Ryou added, "they want to be served. See to it that you serve them. See you later."

His grin widened into a smirk, and he pushed Ichigo gently aside before exiting gracefully through the double doors, his brown coattails trailing behind him. Ichigo spewed and steamed, any good mood she previously had had scattered by blond hair, blue eyes and a haughty attitude.

And then she remembered the cakes, and flushed.

"Sorry, Akasaka-san," she called over her shoulder, bowing in apology as she ducked out of his domain. Pasting a smile on her face and pushing thoughts of jerks, being overworked and White Day aside, she dived back into the bustling café and its ever-demanding customers. But her right index finger kept unconsciously hovering near her lips, and Zakuro twice pulled her aside to inform her that her ears had materialized—a fact that only made Ichigo angrier.

Oooh! I'll get Shirogane if it's the last thing I do!

Meanwhile, now alone again in his domain, Keiichiro stirred the mysterious cake-to-be and marveled at the foolishness of hot-tempered catgirls and, worse, lonely boys who were in love.

Ta-da! Chapter One.

Call this the Fluffy Chapter, if you will. The reason this one got so much longer is because some of my darkness has influenced the plot - and, if I do say so myself, made it better.

HEY, GUYS! REVIEWS ARE CANDY! ...No, seriously. I mean, most of the fic's set in a café. Give me sweets, please!